Car bombs targeting two five-star Baghdad hotels kill at least 10

The bombs exploded seven minutes apart targeting the Babylon and Meridian hotel

BAGHDAD: Car bombs exploded in the parking lots of two heavily fortified five-star hotels in central Baghdad late on Thursday, killing at least 10 people, police and medical sources said.

A further 30 people were wounded in the blasts, which took place around seven minutes apart.

The first bomb targeted the Babylon hotel, where government officials often hold meetings and news conferences, and the second hit the Meridian.

Iraqi authorities had lifted a decade-old night-time curfew in Baghdad earlier this year, seeking to restore a sense of normality to the capital as security forces battle Islamic State militants who have overrun large parts of the country.

But raising the curfew has seen a spike in the rate of bombings in Baghdad.

Insurgents seized the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, on May 17 in the most significant military setback to the government since a US- led coalition launched a campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State last August.